The check deposit apparatus of the present invention comprises an insertion part that is used to insert a check from outside for deposit, a feed part furnished with a feed roller that feeds the placed check along a feed path, an alignment part furnished with an alignment roller that feeds the check fed from the feed part to one side of the feed path and also aligns it, a check reading part that reads information of the check that has been aligned by the alignment part, first and second sensor groups that judge whether the check inserted into the insertion part has a specification that enables it to be fed and processed toward the alignment part normally, a third sensor group that judges whether the check aligned in the alignment part has a specification that enables it to be read and processed normally in the check reading part, and a control part that judges whether to deposit or return the check in question based on the information sensed by the first and second group or third sensor group. According to the invention, a check that has been erroneously placed or does not meet specifications may be readily returned to the user.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A check deposit apparatus comprising: an insertion unit receiving a check for depositing within the check deposit apparatus; a feed roller adjacent to the insertion unit and configured to convey the received check along a feed path; at least one alignment roller placed along the feed path subsequent to the feed roller and configured to align the check conveyed by the feed roller towards a side of the feed path; a check reading unit configured to read information from the check aligned by the alignment roller; a first group of sensors placed adjacent to the insertion unit at a side opposite to the feed roller, the first group of sensor configured to sense whether a length of the check is smaller than a predetermined length; a second group of sensors placed between the feed roller and the alignment roller at a redetermined distance from the first rou of sensors in a direction of the feed path, the second group of sensors is configured to determine whether the check has a width narrower than a distance between the at least one alignment roller and one side of the feed path; a third group of sensors placed in the feed path subsequent to the second group of sensors, the third group of sensors configured to sense whether dimensions of the check matches predetermined dimensions; and a control unit configured to: control rotation of the feed roller to move the received check from the insertion unit towards the at least one alignment roller by determining whether a dimension of the check in the direction of the feed path is shorter than the predetermined distance based on sensing of the first group of sensors and the second group of sensors, determine whether the aligned check is configured for reading by the check reading unit based on sensing of the third group of sensors, and cause the feed roller to rotate to return the check responsive to determining that the dimension of the check in the direction of the feed path is shorter than the predetermined distance.
2. The check deposit apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second group of sensors is further configured to sense-whether the check has a length shorter than the predetermined length in conjunction with the first group of sensors.
3. A check deposit apparatus comprising: an insertion unit receiving a check for depositing within the check deposit apparatus; a feed roller adjacent to the insertion unit and configured to convey the received check along a feed path; at least one alignment roller placed along the feed path subsequent to the feed roller and configured to align the check conveyed by the feed roller towards a side of the feed path; a check reading unit configured to read information from the check aligned by the alignment roller; a first group of sensors placed adjacent to the insertion unit at a side opposite to the feed roller, the first group of sensor configured to sense whether a length of the check is smaller than a predetermined length; a second group of sensors placed between the feed roller and the alignment roller at a predetermined distance from the first group of sensors in a direction of the feed path, the second group of sensor configured to sense whether a width of the check is smaller than a predetermined width; a third group of sensors placed in the feed path subsequent to the second group of sensors, wherein the third group of sensors is configured to sense a length and a width of the check aligned by the at least one alignment roller; and a control unit configured to: control rotation of the feed roller to move the received check from the insertion unit towards the at least one alignment roller by determining whether a dimension of the check in the direction of the feed path is shorter than the predetermined distance based on sensing of the first group of sensors and the second group of sensors, determine whether the aligned check is configured for reading by the check reading unit based on sensing of the third group of sensors, and determine the check as unreadable responsive to determining that the sensed length and the width of the check do not match predetermined dimensions.
4. The check deposit apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the third group of sensors includes a reference sensor disposed at one side of the feed path, a first sensor spaced apart from the reference sensor by a predetermined length in a horizontal direction, and a second sensor spaced apart from the reference sensor by a predetermined width in a vertical direction.
5. The check deposit apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first, second and third groups of sensors include optical sensors to sense whether the check is formed of a single sheet or multiple sheets.
6. The check deposit apparatus of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first, second and third groups of sensors include optical sensors to sense whether the check is formed of a single sheet or multiple sheets.
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December 23, 2009
December 2, 2014
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